Fiji Service Project Background

Fiji Service Project Background

Overview

"Vinaka!" Is a common phrase you'll be hearing during your stay in Fiji. It has plural meanings: welcome, hello and I love you. The people of Fiji are warm and loving; however, there are always tactful tips to make your stay better and show your appreciation for their generosity. Here are a few of them:

• Modesty is very important, especially for females. With church dances or visiting the chief of a tribe, skirts or sulu (material tied around the waist) should always be worn.
• Kissing on the cheek is normal for coming and going.
• When visiting someone's home a gift should be brought as a thank-you for their hospitality.
• Never touch someone's head. This is a sacred part of the body and seen as disrespectful.

The primary language of Fiji is English but it helps to know some of the basics of the Fijian language. It will open doors and bring more smiles as they see you are trying to fit in with their culture. Tulou (pronounced Chu-low) means "excuse me" and should be used excessively. Moce (pronounced Mo-thay) means "good-bye". As you are respectful to them they will do anything to make your stay more pleasant. Be careful with what you compliment them on as they will most likely offer it to you as a gift. The Fijian people have very few possessions but share all they have with their friends and family.

Fijians consist of about 54% of the population. While about 39% of the population are Indo-Fijian. Indo-Fijians were brought over by the British from India years ago as laborers. You will see most Indo-Fijians in the cities as business owners while many Fijians hold on to their land and cultural past. There have been different levels of tension between the two groups through the years and you may witness it first hand while on the island. 

Service Project

One of their greatest needs is to help the country prevent health issues that are caused by lack of hygiene. Most villages are so poor that they do not have functioning toilets. This has created many hygiene related health problems and as you can imagine is one of their first priorities of things to do in order to help their village. For our projects we will be building flush toilets for the homes in one village. You will have a chance to be involved with all aspects including the foundation, construction and plumbing.

Try to imagine your life without this simple, most basic necessity and how that would affect your life. In doing so you will easily be able to imagine how excited and grateful these people will be for your service to help them meet this basic need. You will indeed be directly impacting and bettering the lives of the people in Fiji.

We are excited to work right alongside the villagers to make this project a team effort. In this way we can be assured that they too will take ownership and pride in making this project happen and take care of their village for years to come.